In this hard-hitting episode of Facts & Figures, journalist Hemant investigates one of the darkest and most ignored injustices in modern India—the deadly reality of manual scavenging. Despite being officially banned in 2013, the practice is still widespread, especially in the heart of the nation’s capital, Delhi. Between April and May 2025 alone, 34 sanitation workers—mostly from SC/ST backgrounds—lost their lives inside toxic sewers and septic tanks. In the first week of June, six more workers died. These are not accidents—they are the systemic murders of dignity, rooted in caste and institutional apathy. Over 90% of those forced into this deadly work are from the Valmiki community, highlighting how caste-based discrimination continues to dictate life and death in India.